Betting on the market + AI leaders! Wells Fargo increased its holdings in the S&P 500 Index ETF by nearly 50% in Q2, with Microsoft firmly in the top position

According to the disclosure by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Wells Fargo (WFC.US) submitted its second quarter (Q2) holdings report (13F) for the period ending June 30, 2025.

Statistics show that Wells Fargo's total market value of holdings in the second quarter was $483 billion, up from $440 billion in the previous quarter, representing a quarter-on-quarter increase of 9.77%. In the second quarter, Wells Fargo added 577 new stocks to its portfolio and increased its holdings in 3,322 stocks. At the same time, Wells Fargo reduced its holdings in 2,427 stocks and completely exited 474 stocks. The top ten holdings accounted for 19.82% of the total market value.

Among the top five holdings, Microsoft (MSFT.US) ranked first, with approximately 33.1 million shares and a market value of about $16.46 billion. The number of shares increased by 0.81% compared to the previous quarter, accounting for 3.41% of the portfolio.

SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY.US) ranked second, with approximately 20.04 million shares and a market value of about $12.38 billion. The number of shares increased by 47.29% compared to the previous quarter, accounting for 2.56% of the portfolio.

Apple (AAPL.US) ranked third, with approximately 57.763 million shares and a market value of about $11.85 billion. The number of shares increased by 0.56% compared to the previous quarter, accounting for 2.90% of the portfolio.

iShares S&P 500 ETF (IVV.US) ranked fourth, with approximately 17.7 million shares and a market value of about $10.9 billion. The number of shares decreased by 0.29% compared to the previous quarter, accounting for 2.27% of the portfolio.

NVIDIA (NVDA.US) ranked fifth, with approximately 57.31 million shares and a market value of about $9.05 billion. The number of shares decreased by 4.18% compared to the previous quarter, accounting for 1.87% of the portfolio.

In terms of changes in holding proportions, the top five bought stocks were: SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY.US), Microsoft, Nasdaq 100 ETF-Invesco QQQ Trust put options (QQQ.US, PUT), Google (GOOGL.US), and Meta Platforms (META.US).

The top five sold stocks were: UnitedHealth (UNH.US), Nasdaq 100 ETF-Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ.US), SPDR S&P 500 ETF put options (SPY.US, PUT), Target (TGT.US), and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.US)

Wells Fargo significantly increased its holdings in the S&P 500 ETF by 47.29% in the second quarter, with the market value of its holdings soaring to USD 12.38 billion (accounting for 2.56% of the portfolio), becoming the second-largest heavy position, indicating strong confidence in the U.S. stock market; at the same time, it focused on structural opportunities within technology stocks: heavily betting on AI core assets—maintaining Microsoft as the top holding, and aggressively increasing its position in Google (GOOGL.US) by 30.89%, while Apple was "passively reduced" to third place, reflecting a cautious attitude towards the recovery of consumer electronics. Notably, Broadcom (AVGO.US) entered the top ten holdings for the first time, highlighting an increased focus on the AI chip sector.

On the risk hedging front, Wells Fargo demonstrated a keen defensive awareness: on one hand, it increased its holdings in bond ETFs (AGG.US) and essential consumer stock Costco (COST.US) by 3.36%, enhancing the portfolio's ability to withstand volatility; on the other hand, it aggressively increased its holdings in Nasdaq 100 index put options by 92.25%, while simultaneously reducing its position in the Nasdaq 100 ETF - Invesco QQQ Trust by 30.66%, forming a hedging strategy that clearly expresses a warning about a short-term correction in the high valuation area of technology stocks